Only Time Will Tell
by Mrs.Melladeenthorne
Summary: !AU! 16 year old Katniss lives in Underwater Panem. Her father is a king. A king of mermaids. Katniss was supposed to marry a simple merman. But she made a mistake. She went to the shore and locked eyes with a boy with blonde hair. A human boy.
1. Chapter 1 A Mistake

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hunger Games. Everything belongs to the wonderful Suzanne Collins!

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><p>"Up, Up, Up! It's going to be a big, big, day!" Effie Trinket squeals into my room.<p>

My grey eyes dart open quickly to the pink blob before me. "Effie!" I groan.

"Today is the day you find your husband! I don't want King Everdeen to get upset with me! He might cut off my tail!" She sighs as she swims towards the door.

"Does it have to be today?" I ask as I cross my arms.

"Yes today Katniss. Today is your 16th birthday." She smiles as she leaves the room.

My 16th birthday. Of course. I forgot. Did I mention I'm a mermaid? You may be questioning this because you all obviously believe we are not real. But we are. We are _very _real. My father is the king of Underwater Panem.

Each and everyone of us are different though. Our personalitys pick our tail and eye color. Strange right? My eyes are grey and my tail a light purple. Grey being mysterious and sometimes grumpy. Purple for passion and courage. My hair is long and black. But that means nothing.

"You up sweetheart?" My mentor, Haymitch, swims his way into my room. His tail is grey and so are his eyes. But he does have a hint of purple in them.

"Obviously." I retort.

"Happy birthday." He replies.

"Thanks." I shrug my shoulders.

"Make sure you are ready in an hour. Also be sure to practice your song." He reminds me as he leaves the room.

_The song._ There is a ritual among my family. The female sings her song. A song that comes from her heart. The voice of the female guides all the men to her that hear it. The first person that she meets eyes with, is her true love. _But I don't think it's true love at all._I hate being a princess. I love how I am treated with respect...but I would also love some more freedom.

"Katniss?" I hear my sister, Prim's voice from behind me.

I turn around and see her usually straight blonde hair is in curls. Her bright blue eyes sparkle and her light blue tail sways back and forth.

"Yes Prim?" I answer.

"Are you excited?" She asks.

"No." I reply with a snarl.

"You should be. You get to meet a boy and marry him." She sighs.

"Want to trade places?" I chuckle.

"I'm only 12. I would if I could though." She smiles.

"Prim. I have to tell you something." I say after a few minutes of silence.

"What is it Katniss? Did you accidentally sing somewhere this morning, lock eyes with a boy and now you must marry him? You are supposed to WAIT Katniss." Her sweet voice almost filled with anger.

The rules for this day are stupid. If I accidentally begin to sing somewhere before my "song ritual" and meet eyes with a (let's say a poor old merman), I have to automatically marry that him. No matter what. Even a human boy. But that's never happened. _It's pratically impossible._

"No! No! It's something...that may be worse." I say nervously.

"What could possibly be worse?" She giggles.

I take a deep breath and prepare for the worst. "I've been taking trips to the shore."

"The shore!" She shouts as she swims in circles.

"Be quiet! Somebody might hear you. It isn't as bad as you might think. It's actually quite peaceful." I smile as I braid back my hair.

"You better be careful!" She shouts again.

"I will! I always am!" I shout back.

"Fine." She sits back down on my bed.

"I'll be back." I whisper as I disappear out my back window. 

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><p>I secretly make my way through the city and pass the 12, poor districts. They kind of sacrifice their lives to protect the rich. We lose atleast two people from each of the districts every year from shark attacks. It's quite sad. I swim by the coral reefs and watch as the fish carry on with their lives. As I swim a few miles north I reach the shore. I look around the empty beach and lay out on the sand, close enough to where the water still covers me.<p>

"Might as well get some practice like Haymitch said." I mumble to myself.

I steady my self on the sand and take a deep breath.

_"__Are you, are you  
>Coming to the sea<br>Where they sailed out a man who murdered three  
>Strange things did happen here<br>No stranger would it be  
>If we met up at midnight by the raging sea."<em>

I take another deep breath.

_"Are you, are you  
>Coming to the sea<br>Where the dead man called out for his love to flee.  
>Strange things did happen here<br>No stranger would it be  
>If we met up at midnight by the raging sea."<em>

"That was beautiful." A boy's voice comes from behind me.

I jump at the sigh of a blonde boy. _He sees me. Me. _

But I realize something even worse.

_Our eyes have met._

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><p>AN: Did you guys like this? Should I write more? Please review! :)


	2. Chapter 2 Familiar

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Hope you all enjoy chapter 2! :)

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><p><em>Our eyes have met.<em>

He's under my spell. That means he doesn't realize I'm a mermaid. Atleast not yet. I quickly dive back into the water as he runs after me.

"Wait!" He shouts.

I swim back to the kingdom as fast as I can. This is not good. I can't marry a human! Maybe..maybe nobody saw us. Usually, once my father knows I'm gone, he sends out a few dolphins to search. If anything happens, they tell my father right away. I make my way into the castle and up to my room. I sigh in relief as I look out my window. Everyone is preparing for the ritual.

"Katniss!" Prim shouts anxiously.

"What?" I reply.

"They saw you! With the human! They told father!" She pants.

"I made sure nobody followed me!" I yell.

"Father is very angry!" She sighs.

"Great! Now I have to go find that human boy, explain to him he has to become a mermaid or be cursed for life! How wonderful!" I shout, throwing the nearest item in reach at my wall.

"Katniss Everdeen!" Effie shrieks as she swims into the room.

"It wasn't my fault!" I scream, pulling at my hair.

"Stop that now! You're going to ruin your beautiful hair! What were you doing at the shore anyway?" I can almost see the steam coming out of her nostrils.

"I was looking..for something." I lie.

"Looking for trouble no doubt!" She growled.

"Just go away!" I plead.

"Your father wants to speak to you. Now." She mumbled under her breath. 

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><p>"Katniss Athena Everdeen! I am so disappointed in you." My father shakes his tired head.<p>

"I'm sorry father." I choke out.

"Sorry isn't good enough Katniss! Now you have to go convince this boy to become a merman! He roared.

"I understand father." I say as I nod my head.

"Ivory." He calls for my mother.

"Yes?" She smiles as she swims into the large open room.

"Do you have anything to say to Katniss?" He asks her.

She turns to face me with a frown. It's funny how she looks like Prim. Same color hair, eyes and tail. I look like my father. I have my mother's strong willed personality. Prim is protective like my father.

She simply replys, "No."

"Effie!" He shouts from his throne.

"Yes your highness?" She asks with a smile.

"Escort Katniss and a few guards to the shore. Now please." He orders her.

"Yes. Of course your highness." She bows.

"Thank you." He swims away with his grey eyes and light red tail.

"Come along Katniss." She smiles. 

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><p>"Sing!" Effie tells me as we sit on the shore.<p>

_"__Are you, are you  
>Coming to the sea<br>Where they sailed out a man who murdered three  
>Strange things did happen here<br>No stranger would it be  
>If we met up at midnight by the raging sea."<em>

As I finish the first verse, Effie hops back into the water with the guards.

_"Are you, are you  
>Coming to the sea<br>Where the dead man called out for his love to flee.  
>Strange things did happen here<br>No stranger would it be  
>If we met up at midnight by the raging sea."<em>

"You came back." I hear the same kind voice from this morning.

I gulp as I look back at the blonde boy, "Yes."

"You are..a fish?" He sits a few feet away from me.

"Mermaid." I retort calmly.

"I always hear stories about...you. Didn't think you actually were...real." He laughs.

"You aren't grossed out or terrified?" I ask.

"Not at all. There are alot of strange things around my District." He smiles.

"You have districts too?" I asked with a surprised look on my face.

"Yeah. You do too?" He replys.

"Yeah. They guard the castle." I sigh.

"A castle huh?" He grins.

"What's your name?" I ask him.

"Peeta. Peeta Mellark. I am 16 years old." He smiles warmly.

"I'm Katniss Athena Everdeen. Princess of the sea." I tell him proudly.

"So you're a princess?" He questions me.

"Yes and well, today is my 16th birthday and-" I explain everything to him. He sighs and doesn't say a word.

"So you're saying that I have to marry you...and become a mermaid or be cursed the rest of my life?" He asks.

"That is cor-" He cuts me off.

"Okay."

"Okay?" I repeat.

"I'll marry you." He chuckles.

"You will?" I gasp.

"It's better than being abused by my own mother and scolded by my older brothers." He sighs again.

"I can't believe you would give up your life as a human to become..a stupid mermaid." I whisper.

"I would do _anything_to escape from here." He replys.

"Thank you. For this. If you had chosen to be cursed ... my father would have...sent me to live in a poor district. To live there for the rest of my life." I exclaim.

"No problem. Yeah, I'm really shocked and all. But getting away from here would probably be the best thing that has ever happened to me." He starts to stand up from where he was sitting.

"_No problem." That sounds so familiar. Like I have heard it from him before. This boy...he seems familiar. But where would I know him from?_

"I fee like a terrible person though. Making you marry me. We don't even know anything about each other." A tear slips from my eye.

"What's your favorite color?" He asks as he looks down at me.

"Green. Like those trees over there." I tell him as I point to a forest a few miles to my left.

"I like the color orange." He says.

"Like the coral reefs by my kingdom?" I ask with a smile.

"No. Like the sunset." He replys.

"I watch the sunset sometimes. Usually when it hits the water, it makes my dark hair glow." I slighlty smile.

"I'm sure it looks pretty." He smiles at me.

I blush. "We should get going then."

"I should go make up a lie to my parents. Maybe I'll tell them I'm taking a trip to another district. They could care less if I made it home or not." He laughs.

_So familiar. Why is this happening to me now?_

"I'll wait here." I tell him.

"Good. I'll be right back." He smiles as he walks up the beach.

_I'll be right back. Why is this so familiar! It need to-_

Then it hits me like a ton of bricks. 

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><p>Hmmm. Where do you think she knows him from? Take a guess? :O Review! Please! :)<p>

__Sneak Peek! :D

_"So that was you? I guess I was too young and naive to notice what I was doing!" He laughs as his arm brushes against mine. _


End file.
